Garage door operator



May 29, 1951 H. E. BASS GARAGE DOOR oPERA'rp'R' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 22, 1948 r/ /r//// w x c Inventor mm. W QM Wm Herman E. Bass May 29, 1951 H. E. BASS GARAGE 000 OPERATOR '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 22, 1948 Nmi I n ventor Herman E Bass Patented May 29, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARAGE DOOR OPERATOR Herman E. Bass, Enid, Okla. Application November 22, 1948, Serial No. 61,432

3 Claims. 1 This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in operators or opening and closin devices for garage doors, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate opening and closing of such doors automatically in response to the passage of a vehicle wheel over a depressible actuator located at some distance from the garage door, so that the latter is automatically opened as the vehicle approaches the garage, and similarly is automatically closed after the vehicle is driven out the driveway. I

An important feature of the invention resides in the particular construction of the actuating mechanism, and another feature thereof involves counterbalancing of the garage door so that it may be easily actuated by a comparatively small force, since the effects of gravity are not encountered.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its promptness and dependability of operation, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture and installation.

With the above more important objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the construction and arrangement of parts as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view, partially broken away and in cross section, illustrating the invention in association with a garage and driveway;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3'-3 in Figure 1, and;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 4-4 in Figure 3. i

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the reference character l designates a driveway leading to the door I2 of a garage H, the door I 2 being provided at the sides thereof with pairs of arms l6, l8 which, in turn, are secured to a pair of axially aligned fulcrum blocks 20.

The blocks 20 are rotatably mounted in any suitable manner at the sides of the garage framework 22, and it is to be noted by virtue of this arrangement the door I2 is swingable from a vertical, closed position in an upward direction to a substantially horizontal, open position, as exemplified by the dotted line 24 in Figure 2.

Extensions 26 of the aforementioned arms l8 project beyond the fulcrum blocks 29 and carry adjustable counterweights 28 whereby the door I2 is counterpoised in such manner that it may be opened and closed without acting against forces of gravity.

The opening and closing of the door 12 is effected automatically by means of an operator designated generally by the reference character 30, this involving the formation of what may be called a pit 32 at one side of the driveway 10, at a point substantially remote from the door l2. A bar 34 extends transversely of the pit 32 and carries a pair of spaced, selectively and individually actuable levers 36, 38.

A subterranean conduit 40 extends from the pit 32 to the garage l4, and a pair of flexible cables 42, 44 extend slidably through this conduit, being connected at one end thereof to the respective levers 36, 38. The remaining ends of the cables 42, 44 are attached to suitable tension springs 46, 48 respectively, which, in turn, are connected by means of adjustable buckles 50 to the door I2, as is best shown in Figure 2. In effect, the buckles 50 of the two springs 46, 48 are secured to one of the arms l8 and the arm extensions 26, respectively, that is to say, the two buckles are connected to the supporting members of the door 12 at relatively opposite sides of the fulcrum block 20, as will be clearly apparent. It may be noted at this point that when the door i2 is closed the spring 46 is contracted while the spring 48 is stretched, while a reverse condition exists when the door is open.

A normally upright, substantially U-shaped actuating member 52 is swingably mounted in a pair of brackets 54 on the driveway in immediately adjacent one side of the pit 32, one side of this member being extended to provide what may be called a crank 56 which is disposed in the pit 32 between the levers 36, 38. A suitable tension spring 58 is provided in the pit 32 and is secured to the crank 56 whereby the actuating member 52 is normally retained in its upright position, but it should be understood that the member 52 may be depressed or swung toward and away from the garage door l2, as indicated by the respective arrows 60, 62 in Figure 3. This depression or swinging of the actuating member in one direction or the other is effected by the passage of a vehicle wheel 64 thereover, depending on whether the vehicle is leaving or approaching the garage.

Having thus described the invention, the method of operation thereof will now be eX- plained.

Assuming that the garage door I2 is closed as shown in Figure 2 and the vehicle is approaching the garage along the driveway II], when the vehicle wheel 64 comes in engagement with the actuating member 52, the latter will be swung or depressed in the direction of the arrow 60 and, as a result, the crank 56 will engage and swing the lever 38 downwardly to a position indicated at 66 in Figure 3. This movement of the lever 38 will be transmitted by the cable 44 to the spring 48, which, in turn, will swing the arm extension 28 as indicated at 68, thus opening the door I 2 to the position indicated at 24 in Figure 2.

While the door I2 opens, the spring 48 will become contracted and the spring 46 will be stretched, but the lever 36 will remain in the position shown in Figure 3, notwithstanding the actuation of the lever 38. After the front Wheel of the vehicle passes over the actuating member 52, the spring 58 will automatically return the member to its normal, upright position, while the door [2 remains open. Subsequently, when the rear wheel of the vehicle passes over the member '52, the lever 38 will again be actuated, but since the door l2 cannot be moved beyond its open position, such subsequent actuation of the lever 38 will simply result in a stretching or contracting of the spring 48, without any movement being imparted to the door.

Closing of the door I2 may be effected by two different methods, primarily, by driving the vehicle out of the garage over the actuating member 52, or by simply depressing the actuating member in the direction of the arrow 62 by hand or foot. In either event, no motion will be imparted to the lever 38, but the lever 36 will be swung upwardly to a position indicated at in Figure 3, during which action the cable 42, through the medium of the spring 46, will close the door so that the spring 46 is again contracted while the spring 48 is stretched, as shown in Figure 2.

Needless to say, a suitable cover plate (not shown) may be provided over the pit 32, and it is to be noted that the actuating member 52 s sufficiently wide so that it may be easily engaged by the vehicle wheel.

The aforementioned buckles 50 provide whatever adjustment may be necessary to facilitate proper opening and closing of the door in response to the actuation of the member 52, as will be clearly understood.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this 4 invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An overhead door operating mechanism comprising means for mounting a door for pivotal movement about a longitudinal axis, an actuating lever attached to said mounting means for pivotal movement therewith about said longitudinal axis, counter balancing means adapted to be attached to the door which is mounted for pivotal movement on said mounting means, longitudinally expansible and contractible means attached to said actuating lever on opposite sides of the pivot point thereof, cables attached to each of said expansible and contractible means, means for actuating either of said cables independently of the other to selectively open and close the door which is mounted for pivotal movement by said mounting means, said actuating means including a pair of pivotally mounted independently actuable arms attached to each of said cables, a pivotally mounted crank selectively engaging said arms for imparting'pivotal movement thereto.

2. An overhead door operating mechanism comprising means for mounting a door for pivotal movement about a longitudinal axis, an actuating lever attached to said mounting means for pivotal movement therewith about said longitudinal axis, counter balancing means adapted to be attached to the door which is mounted for pivotal movement on said mounting means, longitudinally expansible and contractible means attached to said actuating lever on opposite sides of the pivot point thereof, cables attached to each of said expansible and contractible means, means for actuating either of said cables independently of the other to selectively open and close the door which is mounted for pivotal movement by said mounting means, said actuating means including a pair of pivotally mounted independently actuable arms, a pivotally mounted U-shaped member having a laterally extending stub shaft, a transversely extending leg on said stub shaft, a transversely extending finger on said leg disposed between said arms.

3. The combination of claim 2 including means urging said U-shaped member to its upright position.

HERMAN E. BASS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Kennel Mar. 1, 1949 

